Nocturnal emissions are accepted by most of the boys of the present generation as a usual part of male experience. --Alfred C. Kinsey, 1948

What you should know about wet dreams

What are wet dreams? Who has them, and why?

One of the most common topics for questions on this site is wet dreams, which are more properly called nocturnal emissions. They are also called night loss and nightfall. They are orgasms with ejaculation that happen while a male is sleeping. They occur during REM (rapid eye movement) sleep -- the kind that cause the most vivid dreams. Sexual desire is but a small cause of wet dreams; they result mostly from the body's need to eliminate the sexual fluids that have accumulated since the last ejaculation. The content of wet dreams is not necessarily sexual, although it is apt to involve the penis in some way, similar to the way people often dream about urinating if they happen to have a full bladder at that moment. Only about a third of males have ever had frequent wet dreams. About as many had a small number of wet dreams (five or fewer) when they were beginning puberty. Most males have their first ejaculation by masturbating, and nearly all of them make it such a regular habit that their body never needs to induce a wet dream. The ones who have wet dreams nearly all stop having them once they learn to masturbate. Thus, most males who have wet dreams are age 12 to 14.

What do boys dream about when they ejaculate in their sleep?

A typical wet dream plot is that something is making contact with the penis (e.g., a substance dripping onto it), and at that moment, the dreamer ejaculates. A more sexual plot is that the subject is in some way making contact with his desired partners (generally girls he knows, whether he is attracted to them or not), such as carrying them on his back, or leapfrogging them. He ejaculates at the moment his penis touches the girl in the dream (usually both are fully clothed in the dream). Very few males report having had wet dreams that were about intercourse. This is mostly due to the limited knowledge of intercourse of most males at the age of having wet dreams.

If I have a wet dream about another guy, am I gay?

Probably not. At the age most wet dreams occur, many males have too little input to accurately gauge their future sexual preference. Nevertheless, the partner contacts encapsulated in wet dreams are closely related to an individual's sexual preference. Many gay men have said they first realized they were gay as a result of wet dreams they had when they were young. However, this is not a perfect indicator; some males who are exclusively heterosexual have had wet dreams involving a same-sex contact, and vice versa.

Will I remember if I have a wet dream?

Wet dreams are somewhat easier to remember than ordinary dreams because ejaculation nearly always awakens the dreamer, at least for a moment, and as with ordinary dreams, waking up in the middle of it makes the dream easier to remember. Some males do not wake up when they ejaculate, and these males are often surprised to find their ejaculate in their bedding or clothing when they finally wake up. For more than a few younger males, the evidence that wet dreams leaves causes them worry and upset that parents or others will discover it. Some males start wearing underwear or other heavier garments to bed at this point in order to contain and conceal the ejaculate. However, this ought not be a cause of concern for boys, because parents are aware that wet dreams, ejaculation, and masturbation are normal developments for boys who are growing quickly and whose voices are changing.

How often do boys have wet dreams?

Males who have wet dreams typically experience one about every ten days, but this is by no means regular; a boy can have wet dreams two days in a row and then not again for a month. It can be a source of stress to a boy who has no other sexual outlet when he goes a longer time than usual without a wet dream. A male who sleeps late is more likely to have a wet dream than one who rises early, because those extra hours of sleep are apt to be more heavily loaded with REM sleep. Thus, wet dreams are more likely to happen on the weekend than on school days.

What does a wet dream feel like?

Physically, wet dreams feel much like other orgasms. The male feels contractions inside the pelvis for a few seconds and then ejaculates. Males who have had a number of wet dreams can recognize these feelings even as they sleep, and in fact, waking up too soon can inhibit the cycle and cause the wet dream to not happen. In many ways, the physiological response of a wet dream is a more pure orgasm than that obtained while conscious. For example, while masturbating or having intercourse, the male is aware of the movements he or his partner are causing (hand motion, stroking against genitals, thrusting, body movement, etc.), whereas in a wet dream, the only sensation is that of the sexual response.

Why don't I have wet dreams anymore? Can I do anything to bring a wet dream on?

Once a male starts masturbating, he is likely to never have another wet dream. Some males decide at some point to refrain from ejaculating for a while in an effort to bring on a wet dream, but these generally do not succeed. It is believed that the body becomes habituated to the stimulation from masturbation and/or intercourse, and thus, even when sexual fluids accumulate to the point that a wet dream would occur in a male who has never masturbated, it does not happen in the male who is experienced at masturbation. The author has heard cases of males abstaining from masturbation for up to a month and not having a wet dream. A few cases have been reported of males cutting back their masturbatory frequency greatly for two years or more before having a wet dream.

Are there adult men who have wet dreams?

There are other males who continue to have wet dreams after they begin masturbating, but the causes of this are unknown. These males generally masturbate infrequently. Perhaps there is some cardinal frequency of masturbation that inhibits wet dreams, and that males who masturbate below this frequency continue to have wet dreams periodically but males who exceed this frequency lose the ability to have wet dreams.

Are wet dreams more fun than masturbating?

Males who have never had a wet dream often desire one simply for the experience of it. But every male who formerly had them when they were young, in a sense, gave them up voluntarily by choosing to masturbate instead. Presumably, these males derive greater satisfaction from masturbating daily or more (as is typical for males learning to masturbate) than from having wet dreams a few times a month.

Is there a connection between wet dreams and prone masturbation?

Wet dreams can contribute to masturbating in the prone position. A few males who masturbate prone can recall having a wet dream in which they began thrusting against their bedding in their sleep. This gave them the idea to try thrusting while they were awake, and it led them to learn to masturbate prone. The males who reported having wet dreams with actual thrusting were sleeping nude when it happened.

Men who used to have regular wet dreams remember them happily, but would not want to return to the days when their only orgasms were dictated by chance and only happened while they were asleep.

The following questions and answers draw on scholarly sex research:

Why is so little known about wet dreams?

Nocturnal emissions have never been an important topic for sex research. The most thorough treatment is still the chapter on them in Kinsey's 1948 work Sexual Behavior in the Human Male. Sex scientists have presumably devoted little attention to them because for most males they are a passing occurrence, and they happen in early adolescence. This is a period that people who study it are occupied by much more pressing issues, such as pregnancy, contraception, drug use, efficacy of sex education, emerging issues of sexual identity, etc.

What causes wet dreams?

No one knows. Before the landmark sex research by Alfred C. Kinsey, authors maintained that nocturnal emissions were caused by the pressures that built up from unexpended sperm and seminal fluid. However, Kinsey pointed out that there was no ready correlation between frequencies of nocturnal emission and other sources of orgasm. (Burg, p. 219)

What did Kinsey's research yield about wet dreams?

Kinsey found that 83 percent of males have had at least one wet dream, although they "never account for any large portion of the total number of orgasms experienced by the male population" (p. 519).

What did Kinsey's study find about the frequency of wet dreams?

Kinsey found a lot of variation in frequency of nocturnal emission among males. "There are males who never ejaculate in their sleep, and more males who have only a few wet dreams in their lives. ... For most males during their earlier years, nocturnal emissions are usually monthly or bi-monthly, rarely weekly or more than weekly events" (p. 521).

"In all social groups," Kinsey reports, "nocturnal emissions are primarily an outlet of younger adolescent and older teen-age boys ... If the experienced males alone are used in the calculations, the highest frequencies of nocturnal emissions occur between adolescence and fifteen, at rates of about once in three weeks. From that point, both the incidence and frequency figures go down..." (p. 523).

Did Kinsey have any idea about the cause of wet dreams?

He believed the existing theories were inadequate. He called physiological information about wet dreams "exceedingly scant" (p. 527), something that is still true today. "Certainly no interpretation is tenable," Kinsey asserted, "which depends upon the idea that the testes are the sources of the semen, and that they or other glands become so engorged with accumulating secretions that involuntary ejaculation is the result. ... If there are any pressures involved, they must arise in the seminal vesicles or in the prostate gland; but data on this point are lacking. It is more tenable to think of nervous tensions which are built up until, periodically, they precipitate an orgasm; but again the physiology is not understood. We are, in consequence, almost completely in the dark as to the possibility of a biologic mechanism which could force nocturnal emissions when other sexual outlets were insufficient." (pp. 527-528)

Kinsey cites earlier research that suggested that those without sexual outlet would be more likely to have wet dreams, but he finds that the emission frequency of church-going males are no different from those of non-church-going males (p. 528), to name just one variable influencing mode of sexual outlet.

Kinsey also suggests that if there were a physiological mechanism that produced wet dreams in the absence of other sexual outlet, that there might be psychological mechanisms that do the exact opposite. "In some individuals," Kinsey speculates, "the physiologic factors may predominate; in others, the psychologic factors may be more significant. It is quite probable that in still other cases, still other factors are involved" (p. 529).

If the "built-up pressure" theory is wrong, what did Kinsey hypothesize about the cause of wet dreams?

Kinsey found educational achievement to be the biggest variable influencing wet dream frequency. Up to age 15, boys who would go on to college had wet dreams seven times as often as as the boys who would only go as far as grade school [a large share of the male population in the pre-1948 period] and more than twice as often as the boys who would only go as far as high school (p. 521). Kinsey speculated that males who attain more educationally have greater "imaginative capacity," and this causes the dreams that result in ejaculation. "The sexual life of a male of a lower educational level," Kinsey says, "is primarily dependent upon active physical contacts. He is aroused during his waking hours by relatively few psychic stimuli, and he rarely utilizes such secondhand sources of stimulation as art, literature, nude pictures, stories, or specifically pornographic materials to accompany or substitute for overt sex acts. At night he probably does less dreaming, of any sort, than the better educated male, and his sex dreams are certainly not frequent" (p. 521).

"We do know that the frequencies of nocturnal dreams show some correlation with the level of erotic responsiveness of an individual. The boys of lower level are not so often aroused erotically, nor aroused by so many items as the boys from the upper educational levels. Nocturnal dreams may depend on imaginative capacity, in something of the same way that daytime eroticism is dependent upon the individual's capacity to project himself into a situation which is not a part of his immediate experience. It may be that a paucity of over socio-sexual experience among upper level males accounts both for their daytime eroticism and for their nocturnal dreaming" (p. 345).

What was the climate surrounding wet dreams at the time Kinsey wrote?

Kinsey made the point that wet dreams have over history commanded less condemnation than other forms of sexual expression, such as intercourse and masturbation. "By nearly all moral philosophies," Kinsey states, "nocturnal emissions provide the one form of sexual outlet for which the individual is least responsible" (p. 527).

Has headway been made on learning unanswered questions about wet dreams since Kinsey?

Unfortunately, even the contributions Kinsey made on the topic seem to have been forgotten. The most influential sex researchers since Kinsey have been Masters & Johnson, but in their book Masters and Johnson on Sex and Human Loving, they asserted the pre-Kinsey notion that wet dreams resulted as an automatic reflex whenever too much sexual fluid accumulated: "Nocturnal ejaculation provides a physiologic 'safety-valve' for accumulated sexual tension that has not been released in another fashion. Men who have reached high and sustained levels of sexual arousal without ejaculating, no matter how the arousal came about, are thus able to discharge this physiologic tension in a completely natural reflex" (pp. 297-8).

Are there case studies of men giving up masturbation in order to have wet dreams?

19th century seaman Philip C. Van Buskirk kept detailed records of his masturbation, nocturnal emission, and coital activity from age 19 in 1852 to 1858. He had 7 wet dreams in the last 17 weeks of 1852, 24 in 1853, and 39 in 1854. He masturbated 7 times in the last 17 weeks of 1852, 18 times in 1853, 21 times in the first 10 months of 1854. In November 1854, he quit masturbating altogether. In 1855, he had 42 wet dreams, only a slight increase over 1854. In 1856, he had 35 wet dreams and masturbated three times. He did not masturbate in 1857 or 1858, when he had 35 and 69 wet dreams, respectively. He had intercourse twice in this period, once in 1856 and once in 1857.

Sexual historian B.R. Burg says of Van Buskirk, "In the years when he masturbated regularly, [the rates of masturbation and nocturnal emission] correlated closely in direct contravention of theories positing a build-up of pressure as a cause of nocturnal emission. When he stopped masturbating in the fall of 1854, the rise of nocturnal emission frequency produced a clear if brief inverse correlation. Then, in the absence of any significant number of induced orgasms, the rate fluctuated erratically in a generally downward direction but remained consistently higher than in the years before 1854. In 1858, for no apparent reason, it rose very rapidly." (p. 219) Thus, concludes Burg, the case provides support for Kinsey's assertion that there is little or no regularly discernable relationship between rates of induced orgasm and frequency of nocturnal emission or involuntary orgasm.

Can someone be hypnotized into having a wet dream?

It doesn't look like it. A hypnotist tried that on some college men (who had been very hypnotizable for other purposes) in the 1970s but none of them were able to have a nocturnal emission. (O'Brien & Rabuck)

Here are some actual questions from readers of this site and the author's replies.

I am 20 years old and in the past week I haven't masturbated, but before that I masturbated at least once a day. I am wondering if I keep not masturbating, will I be able to get a wet dream, being 20 years old. Can you please let me know if I can have a wet dream and if so, about how long would it take with me not masturbating?

You don't say if you've ever had a wet dream (like before you started masturbating), but in either case, I think it's unlikely you'll have one. You've gotten used to the stimulation of doing it yourself. There are some older males who have wet dreams, but that is kind of rare. I've heard of guys abstaining from intercourse and masturbation for as long as a month in an effort to induce a wet dream and they haven't been successful. I've heard of other experienced guys having a wet dream after only 2 nights without an ejaculation. I can imagine the appeal of trying to have a wet dream if you've never had one before, but if you get to about 25 days and then give up, you'll probably decide you've wasted a lot of time. Are you really abstaining from masturbation or just from ejaculation? If you're masturbating short of orgasm, that might be enough to inhibit a wet dream. Good luck.

You say wet dreams feel good but at the same time does masturbating feel better? I never had a wet dream so I need to know. How can I make a wet dream happen? (age 13)

I don't think you have a choice unless you've never masturbated. Once you start masturbating, you'll probably never have a wet dream again. Most guys prefer masturbating to wet dreams.

I'm an 18 year old male. I haven't had a wet dream since I was about 12 years old or so. I still sometimes have sexual dreams, however, I don't have an orgasm as a result. Is this bad?

It's normal to never have another wet dream after you start masturbating.

I'm 17 years old and I haven't masturbated for a few months. Recently I've been having problems such as wet dreams and leaking of semen when I'm not excited. Is there something wrong with me?

Wet dreams and semen leaking are normal consequences of not masturbating, especially if you've never masturbated often. If you think they're problems, you should masturbate more often. Most guys your age masturbate every day or more.

I went for 2 years without masturbating or any form of sex, and toward the end of that period I did have a few wet dreams. (age 51)

Thank you for telling guys who stop masturbating for a week or two in order to induce a wet dream how long they'll have to wait -- two years.

Can working out streneuosly (weights, running) while at the same time never masturbating cause wet dreams? I've heard from someone at school that when he works out a lot without masturbating, his body responds by eventually ejaculating in his sleep. Can this happen? I've never had a wet dream before but I'm eager to see what they are like, and I never get one. Can masturbating regularly reduce the number of erections you get at school? (age 16)

Not masturbating can bring on wet dreams, but it's unlikely you'll get one if you've never had one before if you're experienced with masturbating. Masturbating won't reduce those daily erections.

I was just wondering if the number of times I masturbate enables me to have wet dreams. I masturbate about 7 times a week when it's in the holidays and about 3 times a week when I have school and studies. I also think that I have had a wet dream even when I was masturbating. (age 14)

You think, but you're not sure? It is probable that you will never have a wet dream again now that you are used to masturbating 3-7 times a week.

I have a wet dream about every 10 days. Is it OK if I do not masturbate?

I think 3 ejaculations a month is enough to keep your body healthy. But nearly all males find masturbating to be a great source of pleasure, and you might want to become one of them.

I recently had my first wet dream. It was much better than masturbation. The only part I remember was a very hot woman laying on her front near the edge of a cliff. She offered to jump off with me on her back because she had a parachute. She began to grow impatient because I wasn't getting on her back. I got on her back. That very second I woke up and had ejaculated. I wish it had lasted longer. Do you know a way to keep myself from waking up, or how long it will be before I have another wet dream? (age 13)

That sounds like a typical wet dream plot. There's about nothing you can do to keep from waking up once you ejaculate, but you can try to go back to sleep again. When you first have them, wet dreams can be more than a month apart. If you masturbate, you might never have one again.

You asked for stories about bringing on wet dreams. I have one. I have practiced lucid dreaming, which is taking steps to control your dreams while they are happening. I have managed to bring on one wet dream. I tried to have my partner stimulate me while I was in REM sleep, but this made a difference. Based on what I know about lucid dreaming, I would estimate that 15 percent of men could bring on a wet dream this way. Thank you for your excellent site.

Hmm... I am more inclined than ever to believe that trying to bring on a wet dream is a waste of time. There might be benefits to lucid dreaming, but it doesn't appear that nocturnal emissions are one of them. I've heard of males abstaining from ejaculation for up to a month and not being able to have a wet dream. All they did was waste a month that they could have been having orgasms, not to mention the mental frustration they brought on themselves. Those who have a choice almost always choose to have orgasms while awake.

I'm 16 and I have never been able to masturbate to orgasm, despite masturbating a few times a week. I have had many wet dreams, occuring roughly once or twice every two weeks.

When you masturbate, you're obviously stopping before you get to orgasm. You can easily learn to reach orgasm through masturbation. When you do, your wet dreams will stop, unless you masturbate very infrequently. Since you're already doing it a few times a week without ejaculating, I suspect you will do it even more once you can.

How long do you have to wait to have a wet dream? (age 15)

If you're not having them at your age, I don't think you ever will.

I just wanted to let everyone know how to have a wet dream. I do not guarantee it will be successful, but it has worked twice for me. When you are about to go to sleep, masturbate hard and fast but stop when you are about to orgasm. Go to sleep. Sometime in the night you SHOULD wake up cumming. (age 14)

Thanks for the tip, but I'm not sure it will work at all for someone with more experience masturbating than you have.

How are wet dreams related to sex in dreams? Does one come with the other, and how can I have more dreams in which I have sex? (age 14)

Wet dreams are not generally sex dreams, but they sometimes are. And not very many sex dreams result in nocturnal emission. You might do some research on dreams to learn how to influence their content.

Hi I am 13 1/2. I masturbated for the first time when I was 12. I have never had a wet dream but want to see how they are. Is there any way I can try to get one?

I doubt you'll ever have a wet dream. Trying to bring one on is apt to be pointless. Just enjoy what you're doing now. It looks like you already are.

I stopped having sex and haven't masturbated for 2 weeks and can't have a wet dream. Is this normal? (age 22)

Unfortunately, yes. Trying to bring on a wet dream at your age is a waste of time. Your body is used to the stimulation it gets from masturbation and intercourse.

I'm a 16 year old guy and everything I've read says that I should have had at least one wet dream by now. But as far as I know I haven't! I thought you wake up after having a wet dream. Is this true? Then I have never had a wet dream. Is this normal?

Only about 60 percent of adult males have had ever had wet dreams. The rest started masturbating before they could ever have one. If you had a wet dream, you would know. Even if you didn't wake up right away, the semen would be around as evidence when you finally woke up.

I am 21 and I have never masturbated. I HAVE grabbed my penis when I had an erection, but have never gotten semen to come out because I never knew how. I have been having wet dreams since I was 15 or so. I get them at least a few times a week, although they have slowed down lately. I think it is because I am on a diet. My friends were talking to me about masturbating, so I looked it up on the Internet and came up with your site. Now I am getting scared. Is it very unhealthy for me not to masturbate? Is it enough to get rid of fluids with just wet dreams? I do not want to start masturbating because I find it repulsive, and I heard that I will stop having wet dreams, which I enjoy very much. What do you advise?

I wonder if you don't protest too much. Nevertheless, I will take your statement at face value and respond accordingly. Your diet makes little or no difference in having wet dreams. If you are really having them several times a week, then you are not in danger of getting the problems caused by infrequent ejaculation. It is correct that if you start masturbating, you will cease to have wet dreams. Given a choice, most men would rather masturbate, because then they get to control when they have orgasms, and most choose to have them more frequently than they were having wet dreams. And since you ask what I advise, I advise you to masturbate, because that is how people learn to respond sexually. Most males regard masturbation as one of the greatest joys of life, and you will probably regret that you waited so long to try.

I have been
having wet dreams with frequency like 5 or 6 a month since
beginning. And I am sick and tired of them!!! From your site I
have learned that they are uncommon in boys over 15 because
they start masturbation. I'm 23 and I still get them with same
frequency. How can I use masturbation to get rid of wet
dreams??

I think most males enjoyed wet dreams when they had them and miss them sometimes now that they don't, but enjoy being awake for orgasms now. Most males masturbate more often than you do. That's why you're still having wet dreams. Masturbating 2-3 times a week will probably put an end to them forever.

I am a 21 year old guy and I have masturbated 3-4 times a week from the age of 16 but I have been having wet dreams for a few months. At age 21, is it OK to get wet dreams? I used to have 2-3 a year.

There's nothing wrong with them, but they're kind of unusual at your age.

I have wet dreams probably more often than most, but I have never had an orgasm or ejaculated from masturbation. Sure it feels good, but nothing really happens. I don't masturbate as often as most people probably do because of this. What's the problem? (age 16)

You haven't learned to masturbate to orgasm. The important thing is to keep a mental focus on something that arouses you. With proper mental and physical stimulation, you should be able to get to orgasm in about 5 minutes.

Follow-up: I know how to and I have been trying unsuccessfully for a year to masturbate to orgasm. Is there a chance I have an actual medical problem?

It's possible. It might just be a matter of getting to orgasm the first time. Try abstaining for 5-7 days and then try again.

I was just wondering if the number of times I masturbate enables me to have wet dreams. I masturbate about 7 times a week when it's in the holidays and about 3 times a week when I have school and studies. I also think that I have had a wet dream even when I was masturating. (age 14)

You think, but you're not sure? It is probable that you will never have a wet dream again now that you are used to masturbating 3-7 times a week.

I have a wet dream about every 10 days. Is it OK if I do not masturbate?

I think 3 ejaculations a month is enough to keep your body healthy. But nearly all males find masturbating to be a great source of pleasure, and you might want to become one of them.

I still have several wet dreams a year at age 43. I wait for them rather than masturbate. I think they're more enjoyable than masturbation.

You're lucky to have that option, but most males would prefer to masturbate whenever they feel like it than to have several orgasms a year.

I am now waiting for my fifth wet dream. My last one was on October 21, 2005. It is now almost 2 months since my last wet dream. Wet dreams happen to guys that do not sexually entice themselves for a given amount of time. I'm conducting an experiment as to how frequently wet dreams occur. Wet dreams stop when men start to ejaculate in one way or another. (age 29)

I'm inclined to agree with most of what you say, but something that has happened to you four times in 16 years does not seem to be worth waiting for when an alternative means is available.

I'm 13 years old and I've been having a problem with wet dreams. Sometime they happen 2-4 times a week and one time I had one twice in the same night. They've become a nuisance and an embarrassment like the time I had one at a sleepover birthday party. (Luckily no one noticed.) Is it possible to prevent wet dreams and would masturbation prevent them?

Regular, frequent masturbation is apt to put an end to wet dreams forever. If you masturbate less frequently than you are having wet dreams (which is pretty often), you are apt to continue having wet dreams too. If you have wet dreams regularly, there is really no way to prevent one from happening on a particular night. You might try to enjoy them rather than regard them as a nuisance.

I have a problem speaking to girls who I think are pretty or who I would like to have a relationship with. I know this is entirely normal but I was wondering if you have any suggestions for relieving my problem. (age 14)

Practice being as casual around those attractive girls as you are around girls you find ordinary. Try talking to them about movies or school or something like that. You might also realize that there's more to a girl than being pretty. Try to find some other things about girls that you like. Some pretty girls at 14 become plain as they mature, and some girls who are plain at your age turn out to be knockouts later.

Do females have wet dreams? My fiancee says that she does not know. (age 25)

The "wet" in wet dream refers to ejaculation, and most authorities believe that females do not ejaculate. (This is a controversial point, since many women allege that they produce a burst of fluid at the point of orgasm.) Women report occasionally having dreams that result in orgasm, but this is much less common than the male experience (which is also less than universal), and it would not be called a wet dream or a nocturnal emission because it is dry and nothing is emitted.

I am 16 years old and masturbate once or twice a week. I had my first wet dream last night, for no apparent reason. (age 16)

Wet dreams usually don't happen for an apparent reason. I hope you enjoyed it. Masturbating once or twice a week is infrequent enough that you might have occasional wet dreams. Males who masturbate daily or close to daily usually never have them again.

I am a 25 year old guy and I still have wet dreams (although infrequently). They seem to occur less often when I am masturbating more frequently but I don't want them at all. Is there any way to get rid of wet dreams?

Masturbating daily or more for a period of time puts an end to them permanently in most men. Or, you might be one of the rare men who continues to have them periodically even when you are experienced at frequent masturbation. You might try to enjoy them.

You said in a reply to a question that "Once you start masturbating, you'll probably never have a wet dream again." That is totally wrong, I'd masturbated for a year before I had great seasons (episodes) of wet dreams in my earlier years and I've experimented that I'll have wet dreams whenever I stop masturbating for a very long time (a month or so), even though I'm 18 now.

The key word in my response is PROBABLY, Poindexter.

I have had wet dreams since early adolescence, sometimes
twice in one night, even when masturbating daily for weeks. I am tired of
them; they are difficult to clean up and mess up my sleep patterns. I
don't enjoy having to get up early the next morning for something
important and being jolted out of deep sleep twice the night before, leaving
me groggy and useless with yet more dirty clothes to wash. My semen
stinks and the smell stays on me for hours even after cleaning myself
thoroughly. I don't believe when you say masturbating has any effect on
wet dreams; maybe for most people, but I have never seen any
relationship between the two for myself. I have always experienced intense guilt
after masturbation or wet dreams, from childhood disapproval, but I
don't think feelings of guilt have affected other people's frequency. I
generally desire never to ejaculate, during night or day, except when I
become aroused and begin convincing myself otherwise -- but even then I
tell myself I am doing something wrong. I wonder if one's desire to
have wet dreams is inversely related to the frequency with which one has
them. (age 22)

I think you protest too much about your ejaculating, nocturnal and otherwise. Most males enjoy ejaculating, from whatever source derived. You have too many rationalizations for why you don't enjoy orgasm, and it leads me to question the truth of what you say about having wet dreams often. In any case, just treat the wet dream like any other sleep interruption, like an airplane or truck going by, and go back to sleep afterward.

I had wet dreams from age 12 until I was about 13 1/2 and started masturbating. They were GREAT! When I was 16, I gave up masturbating to orgasm for Lent. I still masturbated but didn't orgasm. About a week and a half into it, I got a wet dream. So if you really want one, there's hope. I didn't get another one, but I screwed up a little on not orgasming and had an orgasm, so that's probably why. It was definitely a tough sacrifice. (age 17)

I don't think what you describe would work for all, but thanks for your suggestion. Keep in mind that whatever you give up for Lent, you can still do on Sundays in Lent.

Looks like that the idea "If you start masturbating, wet dreams stop" is very true. Thats the case with me. I remember the days when I had wet dreams. It was most pleasurable thing in the life. I get more pleasure from wet dreams than masturbating. But after I started masturbating, I never had a wet dream again. I would like to get those dreams back. (age 26)

Look at what you have now.

I'm 39 and I had a wet dream for the first time since I was a kid so I freaked out a bit and found this web site. I feel better now that I read your information so thanks! I haven't had sex in about four years and I masturbate on average once every couple weeks. Sometimes I'll masturbate several times per week then I might go 2-4 weeks without masturbating. It's odd because I had masturbated once in the week leading up to my wet dream. Since it did wake me up I do remember the dream I was having. I was dreaming that I was back in the Army and we were being deployed as we were marching out to our transport airplane there were thousands of people cheering us on, just as I was about to exit I was next to last in line I remembered I forgot my M-16 weapon so I ran back to get it and I could hear the plane taking off so I was freaking out as I got my weapon and people laughed at me, I was running towards the airplane but I wasn't going to make it. I got a sensation like I was going to urinate in my pants so I grabbed my penis through my clothing like a child would do to prevent urinating. That woke me up and for a second I jumped out of bed thinking I was going to urinate I then realized I had ejaculated and it was a wet dream. So the dream was totally non-sexual. I was wondering what wrong with me that I would have a wet dream at 39 but feel much better after reading this web page!

You forgot to mention that women have wet dreams too. Both men and women dream about sex. Sometimes you don't even remember, but in a guy's case, you would have a mess to clean up. Women don't have anything to clean up. Is it true that men and women both are stimulated while sleeping? Like men are erect, and women produce fluids as if they were having sex. I don't know where I heard that, but I want to know if it's true. (age 15)

Women don't have wet dreams. A wet dream is one that includes ejaculation, which most authorities believe women don't do. Males dream about sex much more often than they have wet dreams. Yes, males, especially younger ones, are erect for a lot of the night. Many women get lubricated in their sleep.

I dreamed I was in my room with the lights out with my girlfriend and we were play wrestling. I think at some point she landed on my manhood and I could feel it. Then suddenly, the Burger King stacker commercial pops up in my dream and I even remember thinking, "What the..?" Then I ejaculated. Is this what a wet dream is really like? (age 16)

Yes, that is fairly typical. Many males who have wet dreams are greatly surprised that they don't dream about sex. They ejaculate while dreaming about Burger King, or about Wendy's hot and juicy.

When I was between the ages of 12 and 13, I had wet dreams from one to eight times a month. I stopped having them once I started masturbating, and I masturbated anywhere from 10-14 times a week. Recently, I read your site about wet dreams and the responses, and I decided that I wanted them back because they felt better, and not having to masturbate means you cannot get caught. It was difficult, but I stopped masturbating for 3 weeks and I had my first one in years last night. If someone really, truly wishes to have them again, it's possible, and to get them in a time that is realistically worth it. (age 16)

Yours is a happy story, but most of the males who write me tell me they went even longer than you and couldn't have one.

I noticed when I woke my son up one morning that he had evidence of a wet dream on his underwear and leg. He is only 10 years old. Isn't that too young? (age 31)

No, it isn't. It is rare for boys to be ejaculating that young, but it is not unheard of.

I am 19 years old and had not experienced a wet dream since I was about 14, but recently I have been getting them again. You mention that masturbation should put an end to this. However, my sexual and masturbation habits have not changed for quite some time (sex and/or masturbation an average of 3 times a week), but for the past few weeks, I have been waking up to wet dreams. I usually get up to change my boxers and go back to sleep, but then I wake up to a second wet dream in the same night. Why is this happening? Most of the comments on your site were asking how to experience a wet dream. It seems that most males want to have them, but to me they are very annoying and a great inconvenience. I would much rather orgasm with a sexual partner or from masturbation than have to awake from my sleep to a mess.

It might help to masturbate every night at bedtime. It might also help to wear something different to bed. Wearing briefs instead of boxers might inhibit wet dreams, and wearing sweat pants on top might do even more. I don't know for sure that this is so or why it would be, but a lot of males report that wet dreams happened more often in the summer when they were wearing thinner pajamas and had less bedding. You might also just enjoy the wet dream and not be in such a hurry to clean up. It is only about a teaspoonful of fluid. If you just leave it, it will dry by morning.

I have noticed that I have wet dreams if I wear tight underwear. Is that a factor? (age 16)

For you, maybe. I don't think that is a factor for males generally, with the frequency of other sexual outlets being the most important factor.

I am 15 years old and I masturbate about 4-5 times a week. I feel it is becoming a habit, and the intensity of my orgasms has decreased since I do it too often. I've tried to stop myself from masturbating but it is so difficult. Sometimes sexual tension is so high I can't help myself. The most I've abstained is about 11 days in years. I tried it to see if I could have a wet dream but I couldn't. Any help on stopping masturbation or on increasing my daily orgasms?

I don't think you should try either. Just enjoy what you are able to do. You will adjust to the practice in a year or so, and you'll get better at it too. Perhaps you'll even decide to incorporate acts with partners into your sexual practices.

I am a 25 year old male who has regular intercourse. I have been taking Celexa for about 3 months now. The past month I have been having wet dreams on a weekly basis. Is there any connection? The last time I had one before that was when I was 13.

It could be. Celexa causes sexual side effects in many men, including retarded ejaculation. You might tell your doctor and try a different anti-depressant.

I have been masturbating 2-4 times a week for a few months now. I ejaculate twice a month but I really want a wet dream. I stopped masturbating for two days now. Should I stop masturbating and see if I get one? (age 13)

I usually tell guys not to bother, but if you've only been ejaculating twice a month, I think you might be able to get a wet dream. Good luck.

My first ejaculation was as a result of humping a mattress. It was about six months before I started masturbating properly. I still get the occasional wet dream, and I agree that it is such a pure sensation of orgasm as opposed to one that is externally stimulated. I love the fact that my brain can make me come. I wouldn't give up masturbation for anything, but it's nice to know it can happen in other ways too. I totally agree about the content of the dreams. The content of my wet dreams ranges from a scene in which I'm buying condoms to rubbing against a woman.

Recently I started having wet dreams (about 4 in the past six weeks), and whenever I have one I wake up, and when I get up to wipe it off, I find only a little of the semen on me. What do you think could be happening? Right after about my second wet dream, I tried masturbation and ejaculated about 4-6 ml. I want to keep my wet dreams for as long as possible. However, I'm usually very stressed and still want to masturbate a little, but without losing my wet dreams. How often do you think I can masturbate, while still keeping my wet dreams? Do you think masturbating once every 2 weeks will let me keep my wet dreams? (age 12)

It's interesting that you've only been masturbating for a few weeks, yet you already think it's necessary to relieve stress. I don't have a definitive answer to your question, except that I know the wet dreams will continue indefinitely if you don't masturbate at all. I suspect, but do not have evidence to prove, that if you masturbate less frequently than you're having wet dreams that the wet dreams will continue. In that case, if you only masturbated once in two weeks, then you probably would still have them. Don't worry about the small amount of semen. You will be producing more soon.

I have wet dreams about 3-4 times a month. I do not masturbate and my wife and I have a normal sex llife. We are trying to get pregnant. Are the wet dreams cause for fertility concerns? (age 31)

Just treat the wet dream as you would any other ejaculation for fertility calculations. The optimum abstinence period before attempting to conceive is two days. Thus, if you have a wet dream, your fertility is less for two days afterward.

I masturbated last night and then also had a wet dream later. Is this normal? I've had two wet dreams in the last 3 nights. I usually get them at least once a month and I have sex and masturbate on a regular basis. What can I do to stop having these wet dreams because they can be embarrassing at age 25?

There is no reason to be embarrassed by them. Nearly all males find that masturbating or having intercourse frequently puts an end to their wet dreams forever, but you are part of a small group that continues to have them. It might be that way for a while, but there are few men who continue to have them past 30.

I had a wet dream once and I'm not sure if it is considered a wet dream because in the middle of the night, I woke up and I ejaculated. I lay there for a few minutes because I had no idea why I was about to ejaculate in my sleep and I even started to believe it was just my imagination. Is that considered a wet dream since I didn't ejaculate in my sleep? (age 16)

Yes, it was a wet dream. Most males wake up as or just before they ejaculate. It's kind of a fuzzy line between what is sleep and what isn't, from a lay perspective.

Do you have to be totally erect to have a wet dream? I was having a dream about an old partner. I woke up feeling like I had to urinate. I ran to the bathroom. However, it was some form of ejaculate. It didn't look entirely like my typical ejaculate from masturbating. There was no pain during the discharge. Even though I wasn't erect, was this a wet dream? Could it have been something else? (age 31)

You were aroused in your sleep and this led to some pre-cum flowing. This is what you discovered when you woke up. I don't know if you would have had a wet dream if your sleep hadn't been interrupted. Probably not.

It's weird. I masturbate 2-3 times a week (since I was 12) and never had a wet dream until I was 20. Now I have them once or twice a month. Is this normal? (age 21)

Like you said, it's weird. Try to enjoy the wet dreams. They're fun and nothing to worry about.

Does lifting weights cause more wet dreams? (age 16)

No.

Why do all these guys want to have wet dreams? There's nothing more annoying then waking up in the middle of the night with a mess in your pants. I still occasionally have wet dreams and I hate them! If there is some way I can get rid of them forever, I'd love to know. (age 22)

Those males want to have a wet dream because they've never had one before. They want the experience. I suspect they would enjoy them less than masturbating or intercourse. Some males say they don't enjoy them. You might try having diurnal emissions (i.e., orgasms while you're awake) more frequently and see if that puts an end to your wet dreams. If not, find a way to like them.

I have wet dreams once or twice a week. Wet dreams are nice and I can tell most of the time when they come, but they make a mess! Could I use a pad like girls use? (age 15)

Wearing briefs to bed would fulfill the same function. There's really no pad that would surround your penis effectively. You wouldn't like it if there were.

I had a wet dream last night. It was about this girl I really like, and we were in a sleeping bag together. It was very pleasureable. I masturbate 5-10 times a week. If I sleep in gym shorts and a shirt with lots of blankets, would wet dreams come more often and be more vivid? (age 13)

I don't think dressing that way will make a difference. If you masturbate that frequently, you might not have many wet dreams.

I just had my first wet dream and I woke up embarrassed even though I was the only one in the room. I want to stop having wet dreams but I don't know how. How can I go to sleep without worrying about having a wet dream? (age 14)

The usual way to cut out wet dreams is to masturbate frequently. But most people are more embarrassed about masturbating than about having wet dreams. Instead of worrying about them, why not try to anticipate and enjoy them?

How do you know if you had a wet dream? (age 13)

You would feel an orgasm and ejaculation as you wake up, and if by some chance you don't wake up when you have the wet dream, you would find semen, either wet or dried, in your clothing or bedding when you finally do wake up.

You are dead wrong about "probably never" having a wet dream after masturbating often. I had a wet dream 2 weeks ago for the first time in about 10 years after stopping masturbating for about 10 days. And now I will wait for another wet dream even if it takes another ten years because I like them more. (age 36)

Congratulations, but 10 years is pretty close to "probably never" in human terms. Many men have gone 10 days without ejaculating and not had a wet dream.

I am 39 years old and married. I just recently had my first wet dream. Is that normal at my age with a regular sexual life?

It's unusual, but there's nothing wrong with it. I hope you enjoyed it.

I can still remember my wet dreams. They were great. However, they stopped after my first conscious ejaculation,which way happened in school during a math quiz when I thought that time was running out and I hadn't finished all the questions. It was great, but I would rather have had it happen somwewhere else. I still masturbate 4-5 time a week. Is this normal for older men? (age 70)

That's pretty good for your age and indicates that you are in good sexual health. More than a few men have had a spontaneous ejaculation when they were under some kind of stress. Usually ejaculation without orgasm is not fun.

I experienced a nocturnal emission last night while dreaming about having sex with a woman. I am married and have not engaged in sex for a year due to medical issues, and I masturbate infrequently. I understand that from reading your site that this can cause a wet dream to occur. My ejaculate is much less in volume following a nocturnal emmission than when I masturbate or have sexual intercourse. My question however is directed to the mental correlations to nocturnal emissions. Have there been any studies that show what part of the mind is involved that assists in the stimulatory action of having a nocturnal emission? I can only assume that it is the hypothalmus since this is the pleasure center of the brain. A recent study in Switzerland finds that dreams occur in a portion of the brain located deep in the back of the brain (Bassetti, 2004). I would be interested to know of the correlations between mental activity during REM and orgasm due to nocturnal emission. Thanks for an interesting site. (age 48)

I would be interested in knowing that too. Unfortunately, wet dreams have never been an important area of research. It would be a challenge even to study them. How would you do it? Identify pubescent boys who don't masturbate and have them sleep on an MRI until they have a wet dream? You can see why this has never been done. I know nothing about the brain activity during wet dreams. There is fairly little that has been published on them at all. The wet dreams page on this site is low on scholarly expertise because of that.

If you don't masturbate at all will you have wet dreams your whole life? Some people have told me they did not masturbate a lot and they have only had 3-4 wet dreams their entire life and they are in their 40s. If I don't masturbate a lot will I have a lot of wet dreams? (age 13)

How curious that you were discussing masturbating habits with people in their 40s. I'm inclined to believe they masturbated more than they let on to you. Your wet dreams are apt to dry up if you masturbate at all. If you don't masturbate, you will probably have about three a month.

I had a wet dream when I was 16 years old and at 17 years I got another one and since then I masturbate daily. Now I'm 26 years and I have quit masturbating for a month and hope to get a wet dream. Please advise me as I want to feel the pleasure of a wet dream again.

If you only had two and have been masturbating daily for 10 years, I am inclined to believe you will never have another wet dream. It's a waste of time to try.

You said that guys who masturbate frequently usually don't have wet dreams but I recently had one about a girl I know at school. Does that mean I'm addicted to masturbating or obsessed with getting laid? (age 16)

It might not mean either of those things. We don't fully understand what causes wet dreams. Just try to enjoy them.

I started mastubating about 8-10 months ago and have been doing so about 4 times a week. I had my first wet dream at 11. Is there much chance of me having one again? I have stopped masturbating to try. How long should I wait before giving up? (age 14)

After more than eight months of frequent masturbation, I think it's unlikely you'll ever have another wet dream. I can't imagine you enjoy waiting.

I would like to know if drinking lots of fluids on a daily basis and refraining from masturbation for an extended period of time would cause semen to build up to the point where I could have a wet dream? (age 25)

I'm a big believer in drinking lots of fluids. The intake is not connected with the output you hope to accomplish. I think it's more likely that all that drinking would send you to the bathroom repeatedly and frequently where you will be preoccupied with your underutilized penis.

I have been masturbating for about three years frequently, and last night I had a wet dream. This was not my first wet dream. I masturbated yesterday before I had the wet dream. Doesn't that prove the build up theory wrong? (age 15)

The build up theory has been believed to be wrong for quite a long time. There just isn't a better one to replace it. As you point out, wet dreams are rare for you, and for most your age, they don't happen at all.

I'm 26 and unmarried. For the past 10 years I've been having wet dreams. I used to masturbate regularly. Please help me stop the wet dreams.

If you masturbated frequently, you would probably never have wet dreams. There's nothing harmful about them. Most who have them enjoy them.

Do you make noise during a wet dream that someone can hear? (age 15)

No.

I have been masturbating daily for 7 years, but I want to stop for a while, just to prove to myself that I can. I am worried that I might start to have wet dreams though. I am still living at home, and so having a wet dream would be quite embarrassing, as it would be difficult to explain why I am washing the bedsheets. How long do you think that I can go without masturbating before I have one? (age 21)

You probably won't have one. Not masturbating will be stressful enough without worrying about a wet dream. If you wore underwear to bed, your chances of soiling the sheets are small.

I'd just like to share my experience. I wanted to have a wet dream, so I quit masturbating for a month. Then I couldn't help it and masturbated, but didn't have a wet dream during this month. Then again I refrained from masturbation, and on the 24th day I had a wet dream. And I find wet dreams to be a lot more pleasurable than masturbation. I didn't have to wait for 2 years after all! (age 18)

Congratulations, but I imagine you thought about masturbating a lot during those 54 days. Was it really worth it?

My husband is 44 and I have noticed he has frequent wet dreams. I first noticed this when I was pregnant twelve years ago. My first thought was that maybe we were not having enough intercouse and his body was just releasing a build-up of semen. During my pregnancy, my husband was worried about intercouse hurting our unborn child. But no matter how frequent or infrequent our intercouse schedule is, he still continues to have wet dreams. He thinks I am unaware on his wet dreams. We have never discussed them but I am concerned about them and worried that he has fantasies about someone else. I want to discuss this with him but I am unsure of what to say. What should I say to him about this? (age 35)

He must know you know if he's been having them in front of you for 12 years. Wet dreams are so rare in men his age that I doubt it has anything to do with adultery or being unsatisfied with you. If you really can't bring the topic up, why not initiate sex more often and see if he has fewer wet dreams?

I want to have a wet dream but I started masturbating when I was 13. Can I make it happen if I stop masturbating? (age 15)

I usually tell guys that it's a waste of time to try, but if you really want to have one, you can stop masturbating for a few weeks and see if you do. Good luck.

I usually masturbate frequently, though I often try to stop myself (for religious reasons, I feel very bad after the act is completed). However, every time I try to stop masturbating, I get wet dreams frequently (up to 5 or 6 times a week) I have not masturbated in two weeks and last night was my 6th night in a row having a wet dreams. If I start to masturbate again, the wet dreams stop (as long as it is frequent enough). But, as I mentioned, I do not want to masturbate, but having such frequent wet dreams is getting extrememly annoying. What should I do? (age 21)

I think you should accept masturbation as something normal and healthy and fun, something practiced by men of every religious persuasion. You are lucky if you can still have wet dreams. Few men your age can. Try to enjoy them.

I really want to have a wet dream but I don't want the mess! Is there anything I could do to have a wet dream and not make a mess of my bed covers? My dad knows I masturbate (about once a week) but my mom doesn't. I don't want her to know if I had a wet dream either. Would putting tissue partly inside and partly outside of my penis prevent the mess? And how messy is a wet dream? My friend says his bed was covered and his clothes permenatly stained. (age 13)

Relax! You'll never enjoy a wet dream if you are so worried. It's only about a teaspoon (5 ml) of fluid. The easiest way to contain it is by wearing underwear without an easily penetrable fly to bed (For example, with briefs, you have to work your penis out through several layers of fabric, as opposed to boxers or pajamas where an erect penis can pop right through the fly.)

I'm 37, and I have wet dreams a few times a year. I masturbate 1 to 4 times a week generally, but I don't think there's any correlation. Regarding your comments about correlation with academic achievement, I have a science Ph.D. from a top university, so maybe it's true. Not sure I'm tremendously creative or anything though, just very good at math and science.

Those comments were not mine, but were made by Dr. Kinsey and his collaborators in 1948. Thanks for your words.

Do you vigorously stroke your penis (like masturbation) when having a wet dream or do you ejaculate without any touching? (age 14)

There is no stroking involved. It is just an orgasm caused by a process inside the body.

Does masturbation affect a person's wet dreams? (age 15)

Absolutely it does. It will probably put an end to them forever.

In school we learned that when you get a wet dream, your penis gets bigger. If that's true, then what about guys who don't have wet dreams? (age 15)

Your penis erects for the wet dream but does not grow bigger permanently as a result of having it.

Although it is hard to bring on a wet dream, how can I increase my chances of having one? (age 22)

Many males who have done it have stopped masturbating for a long time. I have also heard it suggested that you masturbate very close to orgasm but stop and then go to sleep. I think it is doubtful that this would work generally, but there is no harm in trying it.

When I have a wet dream, I ejacuate only about 1/3 of the amount I ejacuate from masturbating. Why is this? (age 14)

I suspect it is because when you masturbate, you can control how much you ejaculate by stroking it in just the right way to maximize it, whereas in a wet dream, it is your body working by itself and you do nothing to maximize the output.

Are wet dreams a form of masturbation? (age 20)

No. Masturbation is intentional self-stimulation for the purpose of increasing sexual arousal, and wet dreams are unintentional.

Is it normal that in a wet dream when I'm about to put my penis into the dreamgirl's vagina, right when I'm touching her vagina, I ejaculate. (age 16)

Yes, that is fairly typical. The male ejaculates as soon as his penis touches something in the dream.

There's gotta be a way to bring on a wet dream even if I've never had one and even if I jerk off every day. Maybe eating something before I go to sleep or sleeping a certain way? (age 15)

I don't think so.

I usually masturbate quite often, once a day generally. Recently I stopped masturbating, because I just had too much other stressful stuff on my mind, quitting my job and all. A few nights ago, I had the most amazing night (without a girl). I had three wet dreams in one night, I know because I woke up to clean the mess. All the dreams were highly erotic and FANTASTIC! Is there any way I can work toward having the same type of night again? (age 25)

No. Having three wet dreams in one night is pretty unheard of, especially at your age. If you really want to have more, I suggest not masturbating for another stretch. Please let me know how it goes.

I have been masturbating 8 or 9 times a week since I was 11 years old, and I just had my first wet dream. From your web site, there's no reason for me to have had one. Is there a chance I'll have one again? (age 13)

It is unusual that you've had one, but you might have another random one sometime soon.

Could it be that nocturnal emissions are the result of childhood trauma? (age 17)

I don't think so. They are something normal and healthy and fun. You ought to enjoy them instead of thinking of them as some sort of punishment.

Do wet dreams reduce sperm count and change the figure of the penis? Does hand practice of 15 times in a month reduce sperm count? (age 21)

Ejaculating every two days probably maximizes sperm count. I doubt that wet dreams have much of an impact.

I just had my first wet dream in 17 years. Could this have something to do with the trauma of my dog dying recently? (age 33)

Sometimes they just seem to happen randomly. I don't know if the death of your dog is related. Wet dreams are not something to worry about. They are not a sign of an illness. Just try to enjoy them if you have them.

I had a wet dream a few months ago in which I was having intercourse with a nurse. You said most boys don't dream about intercourse in their wet dreams. Am I weird? (age 12)

No, and I hope you enjoyed it.

Could a combination of prescription drugs induce wet dreams? (age 56)

I've never heard of that, but I can't say it's impossible.

If you fall asleep on your stomach, will that increase your chances of having a wet dream? (age 14)

I don't think so.

If someone were to masturbate frequently for about a year and then stop masturbating altogether, would they have wet dreams? Do you have to continue to masturbate in order to avoid them or will they stop even after you quit masturbating? (age 16)

I've heard from many males who have stopped masturbating for one reason or another. Very few had wet dreams as a result

I had my fiirst wet dream in a few years and it was right before my basketball game. I didn't masturbate for a few days to be ready. Does having a wet dream make you lose aggressiveness for a day like masturbation does? (age 14)

I don't believe that masturbation does that, and a wet dream would be even less so, because it doesn't require any exertion on your part. Some of the greatest athletes of all time were sexually compulsive and had much more than a normal amount of sex, even on game days.

Growing up I never had any wet dreams. I've had regular orgasms since junior high (3-4 a week). I stopped masturbating a few months ago and I had my first wet dream 56 days later. In that dream I was in a limo with a bunch of girls. My second wet dream was 28 days after that (exactly half the time to the first one). In both cases I don't remember any orgasmic feelings; it felt more like I was urinating. Also, when I was a junior in high school I gave up masturbation for Lent (49 days) and never had a wet dream. You have to wait a while for a wet dream, at least that is my experience, but it appears that they happen more often once you get it going. (age 22)

Thank you for reporting your experience. However, I should like to point out that in the time you were waiting for those two wet dreams, you would have had 42 orgasms based on your reported masturbation frequency, and you would have remembered the orgasmic feelings. It's interesting that whatever you give up for Lent, you don't have to give up on the Sundays in Lent. That's what a seminarian told me recently.

I want to share my experience. From the age of 13, I masturbated about 10 times a week. I reduced my masturbation to about once every 4 to 6 weeks and began to have wet dreams every 3 weeks about 6 months after I cut back. (age 23)

Was it worth it? Most men would rather masturbate.

What I remember about my first wet dream was I was in the front seat of this van and she lifted her shirt and bra and I saw her bare breasts and that second I ejaculated. (age 16)

That is actually more explicit than many wet dream stories I hear.

I would first like to thank you and your site for giving understanding to young males such as me. I only discovered this site half a week ago and am now masturbating daily. Before this I have had almost 7 wet dreams in 3 months, and strangely I didn't take much pleasure from these dreams. I have learned that I would rather masturbate. Is it possible to masturbate daily, fantasize about women during sleep and not have wet dreams? (age 14)

It is not only possible, if you get into the habit of masturbating daily, it is also pretty likely.

I've had about 1 or 2 wet dreams a year since age 20. I separated from my wife about 3 years ago, after 12 years together, and now I seem to get them about every 2 or 3 months. I hardly masturbate and never have sex anymore. It's weird because I hardly see women that really turn me on anymore. I'm sure my wet dreams have increased because of never having sex. One day I happened to be watching TV and I saw a girl that got me hot and bothered. I masturbated and had a wet dream about her the next morning. Just about every time I have them is after I've woken up and gone back asleep. I go into a really deep sleep even though it's only for an hour. I have a super intense and absolutely awesome sexual dream. (age 38)

You might discuss some of these issues with a professional. It is not good for you to give up masturbating and lose interest in women. Most men your age masturbate often, even if they have partners. Having a wet dream while sleeping late is not at all unusual.

I've never had a wet dream before so correct me if I'm wrong.
Last night I was lying on my stomach and I fell asleep. I hadn't masturbated in 3 days. I was dreaming I was doing it with a girl. As you said, you ejaculate as soon as the penis touches a female body in any way. However, my dream did not occur this way. It took like 5 minutes after I penetrated her for me to wake up after orgasm. Also, in my dream, I saw everything as clear as day. The only thing I didn't see was her face. I even heard her voice really clear too. Was this a wet dream? If not, was I just orgasming in my sleep like some people orgasm while watching tv? (age 13)

Orgasming in your sleep is a wet dream. There is no fixed pattern to them. All I can give you are generalities. Be glad you had one.

After almost 15 years of masturbating regularly (sometimes twice a day, others twice a week), I decided to stop. I've masturbated once in the past 3 months. I recently had 2 wet dreams within 2 weeks. Before that, I hadn't had one since starting to masturbate. I was surprised. Also, the dreams were not sexual in nature, nor was touching a woman. But in both cases, the storyline was abruptly interrupted by me masturbating then and there in my dream, while in reality I was having a wet dream. My conclusion as of now is that my subconcious needed to create a reason to be ejaculating (because it was going to happen no matter what) and did so through masturbation. Perhaps this is because most of my releases happened through masturbating. I found the wet dreams to be more intense and sustaining. I'm am also a creative profesional. There does seem to be a correlation between masturbatory frequency and wet dreams, although your mileage will likely vary. (age 28)

The correlation you describe is an inverse one. If you read what it says earlier on this page by Dr. Kinsey, you will find that creative types are more likely to have wet dreams than others. You don't say why you decided to quit masturbating. I would be interested in the details of that and how you managed to do it.

When I was 14, I had a wet dream in which I looked at a girl dressed in a mini-skirt. Then the skirt went up and I saw her bottom. In this very moment, it felt like a photo was made and I woke up ejaculating. (age 30)

That's a good memory to have. I don't suppose you remember too many other dreams from 16 years ago.

A young man I will call Lance kept a database of his wet dreams from the time he had his first one at age 13 in 2004 until his last one over a year later. It is not a complete database; he included only his "most pleasurable and memorable ones." With his permission, here is the database:

Date

Day

Days since last wet dream

Star rating

Rate

Duration (seconds)

Hotness of girl

Intensity

Vividness

Length of dream (minutes)

Seconds of orgasm after waking up

Comment or description

9/24/2004

Friday

2

9/30/2004

Thursday

6

4

9

8

5

2

8

180

3

I reached to touch one of my teachers on the breast

10/10/2004

Sunday

10

3

10/29/2004

Friday

19

3

10/30/2004

Saturday

1

3

11/5/2004

Friday

6

3

11/8/2004

Monday

3

2

11/12/2004

Friday

4

2

11/16/2004

Tuesday

4

3

11/28/2004

Sunday

12

1

12/2/2004

Thursday

4

4

8

7

9

5

10

45

1

I made out with one of my sisters' friends

12/4/2004

Saturday

2

1

12/21/2004

Tuesday

17

4

12/28/2004

Tuesday

7

2

1/4/2005

Tuesday

7

5

10

15

6

0

8

180

2

I searched for sexy girls on google search engine then jumped into computer

1/10/2005

Monday

6

5

11

15

6

8

10

0.3

2

My cousin pounced on me out of nowhere

1/16/2005

Sunday

6

1

2/17/2005

Thursday

32

3

2/20/2005

Sunday

3

4

8

7

9

0

6

0.2

0

Tried to catch a hot girl but she ran too fast

2/21/2005

Monday

1

3

3/15/2005

Tuesday

22

1

3/19/2005

Saturday

4

2

3/22/2005

Tuesday

3

4

8

4

9

0

4

180

NA

Tried to catch a hot girl but she ran too fast

3/27/2005

Sunday

5

4

9

7

9

0

6

30

0

Driving in a car with hot girl; she looked at me seductively

4/3/2005

Sunday

7

1

4/11/2005

Monday

8

2

4/16/2005

Saturday

5

1

4/25/2005

Monday

9

3

5/2/2005

Monday

7

3

5/10/2005

Tuesday

8

2

5/18/2005

Wednesday

8

4

7

10

7

8

10

1

2

Asked a girl to straddle me and she did

5/24/2005

Tuesday

6

2

5/25/2005

Wednesday

1

3

5/30/2005

Monday

5

2

6/1/2005

Wednesday

2

1

6/2/2005

Thursday

1

5

9

6

10

8

5

60

0

Stole a Mr. Goodbar from supermodel so she tackled me to get it back

6/9/2005

Thursday

7

3

9

8

6

1

10

20

1

Grabbed a girl and started ripping her clothes off

6/9/2005

Thursday

0

4

8

5

6

7

10

3

4

Went back to sleep, saw the same girl and asked her to straddle me

6/12/2005

Sunday

3

2

6/13/2005

Monday

1

2

6/13/2005

Monday

0

3

6/15/2005

Wednesday

2

4

8

9

8

0

9

180

NA

Chased a girl around a room but never caught her

6/16/2005

Thursday

1

3

6/19/2005

Sunday

3

3

6/21/2005

Tuesday

2

3

6/21/2005

Tuesday

0

4

6/25/2005

Saturday

4

5

8

10

6

7

8

30

NA

Same girl from January 10 WD pounced on me out of nowhere

6/30/2005

Thursday

First masturbation short of orgasm

7/3/2005

Sunday

8

2

7/16/2005

Saturday

13

2

7/19/2005

Tuesday

3

2

7/20/2005

Wednesday

1

5

9

15

5

8

9

10

3

Was having anal sex with a fat girl (thrust about 15 times)

7/20/2005

Wednesday

0

3

7/20/2005

Wednesday

0

3

7/21/2005

Thursday

1

3

8/4/2005

Thursday

14

4

8/12/2005

Friday

8

3

8

10

10

10

10

5

4

Was straddled by an incredibly hot girl while she bounced on me

8/12/2005

Friday

0

3

8

10

10

9

10

0.2

0

Went back to sleep and dreamt about the same girl except this time I had to force her onto me

8/12/2005

Friday

0

5

8/12/2005

Friday

0

4

8/12/2005

Friday

0

3

8/23/2005

Tuesday

11

3

8/23/2005

Tuesday

0

3

8/25/2005

Thursday

2

1

8/30/2005

Tuesday

5

1

9/2/2005

Friday

First masturbation to orgasm

9/4/2005

Sunday

5

2

9/5/2005

Monday

1

2

9/8/2005

Thursday

3

2

9/8/2005

Thursday

0

4

9/12/2005

Monday

4

4

7

9

8

9

10

0.1

1

Heavily embraced a girl with french kissing and hugging and moving provocatively

9/14/2005

Wednesday

2

1

9/17/2005

Saturday

3

3

9/17/2005

Saturday

0

5

13

6

9

8

10

5

2

Made a humping motion while hot girl straddled me

9/20/2005

Tuesday

3

4

8

11

8

7

4

180

NA

Broke into a woman's house and forced her onto me

9/20/2005

Tuesday

0

1

9/20/2005

Tuesday

0

3

9/20/2005

Tuesday

0

5

9/21/2005

Wednesday

1

5

10

10

10

10

10

11

0

Was lovingly kissing a hot girl on top of me (somehow I felt love during the dream even though the girl doesn't exist in real life)

9/21/2005

Wednesday

0

4

9/21/2005

Wednesday

0

3

9/23/2005

Friday

2

4

9

9

NA

0

10

0.3

5

Was walking through a restaraunt and began orgasming out of nowhere (no stimulation in dream)

9/27/2005

Tuesday

4

5

11

1

?

9

4

10

NA

Was running through a crowd and frenching random girls. I remember a quick surge of intense pleasure at some point

9/27/2005

Tuesday

0

5

12

30

10

10

10

5

5

I lay on a counter; the same girl from 9-21 WD got top of me and we fooled around for almost 30 seconds

9/27/2005

Tuesday

0

2

9/27/2005

Tuesday

0

1

9/30/2005

Friday

3

5

10

8

10

5

10

1

3

Was rubbing my penis against a hot girl's silky leg

10/3/2005

Monday

3

4

8

9

10

10

8

100

NA

I was making out with girl while she was straddling me naked and we were having sex

10/3/2005

Monday

0

5

10/6/2005

Thursday

About this day, Lance made masturbating a daily habit

10/10/2005

Monday

7

3

10/15/2005

Saturday

5

2

10/23/2005

Sunday

8

3

7

10

9

0

10

0

9

A delayed orgasm; I had a non-vivid dream of a girl then orgasmed after the dream faded and I was half-asleep. This was after I had already masturbated several times and was my last good wet dream.

Some comments on Lance's experience:

Lance had at least 90 wet dreams in the year after his first one

At the point he started masturbating (although not to orgasm) on June 30, 2005, he had had wet dreams on ten different days in the preceding month, but then he had them on only five days in the next month

After Lance learned to masturbate to orgasm on September 2, 2005, he still had wet dreams on eleven different days in September (he did not masturbate to orgasm a second time in September)

Between October 4 and 14, 2005, Lance masturbated to orgasm nine times (in 11 days) and had only one wet dream. He masturbated to orgasm another six times between October 15 and 23.

After Lance made masturbation a daily habit in early October 2005, he had only two wet dreams, and then they stopped permanently

I've read nearly every question and answer given on this your site. What I've gathered is that most people who experience wet dreams after abstaining from masturbation after making masturbation a regular habit are people who seemed to have wet dreams when they were younger. Do you think the two correlate? I've never had a wet dream. I've abstained from masturbation for 3ish months at one time, and still never had one. Do you think that I haven't had one, even after abstaining for so long, BECAUSE I learned to masturbate early, and never had a wet dream? (age 17)

I think the key is that you made masturbation a daily habit before you had a wet dream. By doing that, you are foreclosing any likely possibility of having a wet dream in the future. If you have wet dreams before masturbating the first time, and then masturbate only occasionally (e.g., once or twice a week), then you might be able to sustain wet dreams for a long time.

I am engaged to marry and get sex regularly. I just had a wet dream two days after sex and haven't had one since I started masturbating more than ten years ago. I don't even remember the dream that triggered it. This, in my opinion, is the most random thing that has happened to me in a while. (age 25)

It is a good random thing. I hope you found it enjoyable. It doesn't mean that anything is wrong.

Last night I had a dream in which I was with a woman, both of us naked in a bed. I penetrated her vaginally and immediately heard a male voice say "No, only anal sex." Someone rushed to me with a jar of lubrication just as I penetrated the woman's anus. It was at this point that I woke up ejaculating.

I am married with an adult child. My wife and I have sex infrequently. I recall having a wet dream several years ago but do not recall the details. I don't know what to make of this dream. I have read that as soon as the penis touches a body part (in the dream) ejaculation occurs. However, as you have read, this was not the case with my dream.

It is the case most, but not all of the time, that ejaculation occurs when contact happens with the penis. Wet dreams are extremely rare at your age. I can't generalize about them. Most males who have wet dreams are extremely inexperienced sexually, and it doesn't take much to get them to ejaculate.

I started masturbating by humping my bed when I was around 9. I started to orgasm at this time but didn't ejaculate until I was 11. Starting then I had a wet dream if I didn't ejaculate at least once a week. To this day, over 14 years later, if I skip masturbating for a week, I have a wet dream. So during those family vacations or trip to Grandma's, I have to take care of myself once or twice. I thought I would share my side of having wet dreams if I skip just a week's worth of fun. (age 24)

I hope you read what wrote about masturbating by humping the bed. It would be useful to know how often you have masturbated over the years. Once a week? Twice a week? Daily?

I had a wet dream recently. I haven't had sexual intercourse in 17 months. Was it because of sexual thoughts? (age 33)

More likely it's because you haven't been masturbating as often as usual lately.

It looks like this site mainly has contributions from younger men or teens, but I thought I'd throw in some of my own information and a question. I'm 60 now, and I wish I had the luxury of this sharing of experiences as I moved into and through adulthood.

First, for a long time, because of social pressures at the time, I was never sure my habits of masturbation were normal. I now know they were. Second, as a very young man, I never imagined a man in his 40s, 50s, or 60s still getting erections and masturbating on a regular basis. I guess I should have gotten a clue when I continued to masturbate even though I began having intercourse with women and continued to do so after I got married.

Regarding wet dreams, I have only had one. I had begun to masturbate at around age 12. When I was about 13, a male friend of mine the same age spent the night with me, and he confided that he had awoken to find his undershorts soaked from an ejaculation he had in his sleep. I had never heard of this, since my only experience was with ejaculation resulting from masturbation. I wondered if my friend had been trying to tell me he had masturbated, but after asking some questions, I decided he had been truthful. The discussion gave me a persistent erection, however, so when I thought he had fallen asleep, I masturbated and ejaculated as quietly as I could.

Probably because I regularly masturbated as I entered sexual maturity, I had no wet dreams. That is, until I was 20 years old. I had entered the Army, and for about 7 weeks, I had no opportunity (and not much inclination) to masturbate. We new recruits all slept in one large room with rows of bunk beds, and any masturbation would have been detected and probably ridiculed. After all that time with no release, I finally had an erotic dream about going home and having sex with my girlfriend. In my dream, I could feel my penis enter my girlfriend's vagina, and I immediately began to orgasm and ejaculate. I quickly awoke, and reached down to find myself forcefully ejaculating. Cleaning up and so forth without being noticed was difficult, but I managed.

I haven't had a wet dream since, but I still remember what a powerful orgasm and ejaculation I had during that one. I would really enjoy doing that again. I've tried to, but I haven't been able to go that long without either masturbating or having sex, even at my current age. Hopefully, I'll be able to sometime and experience another wet dream. Are there any men out there in their 50s or 60s who, after foregoing sex of any kind for a long period of time, have wet dreams?

I suspect the reason that orgasm was so powerful was not because it was a wet dream but because you hadn't had an orgasm in seven weeks. Wet dreams are generally not as intense as waking orgasms. Wet dreams are extremely rare in older males and I doubt it would be a good experience for you to give up your waking orgasms in order to find out if you could have a wet dream.

I have not been masturbating lately. I had a wet dream while sleeping on a plane trip which is embarrassing as I am not sure what I was doing as I was asleep! Is it possible I was doing anything while having the wet dream? Like making any noise or movement? (age 28)

No. When you're having a wet dream, you're in REM sleep, during which your body is immobilized.

I masturbate about 2-3 times a week. I'm pretty sure I've never had a wet dream, but when I was younger (maybe 9) I had a dream about a girl and she landed on my penis. I remember it felt really good but I didn't even know anything about orgasms or masturbating or wet dreams. Do you think it was a wet dream? (age 13)

If you didn't ejaculate, it wasn't a wet dream.

I have just begun masturbating ever since I found out two weeks ago. I haven't had any wet dreams and I'm wondering if a wet dream is still a possibility for me. (age 12)

It seems to make a difference how often you masturbate when you first start. If you only masturbate 2-3 times a week, you might be able to have wet dreams. If you get to masturbating four or more times a week, it tends to kill your wet dreams forever.

The thing about not having wet dreams while masturbating frequently is not entirely true. I remember about 7-8 months ago I used to masturbate almost every day. Once, I had 3 wet dreams in one week. I can't remember 2 of them but in one of them I was kissing this really beautiful girl and I was about to penetrate her. At that moment I ejaculated. It was actually very pleasant. I don't really understand why some people don't like them. (age 17)

I don't either, but it's not the case that masturbating will put a stop to wet dreams in every person. But most males no longer have wet dreams after they start masturbating regularly.

My partner who is 28 had a wet dream last night and was extremely unhappy about it. The sleep disturbance annoyed him and he felt very embarrassed. I did my best to help him by changing the sheets and reassuring him that it is OK and natural. We had sexual contact short of intercourse afterward but I was disappointed that I did not get any action! We normally have sex a few times per week and as far as I am aware, he never masturbates. We are together almost all the time. Lately we have been having sex much less frequently, once per week, maybe once in ten days or so. It was very helpful to read the information on HealthyStrokes.com, and I would like to thank the brave boys and men for sharing details of their masturbatory adventures. I needed my own reassurance about this subject. My partner says he was dreaming about me giving him oral sex, which is something he always wants. I was skeptical that he would dream about me when there are so many sexy women to dream about! He admitted that he might want to hide the truth to protect my feelings and his shame, but he assured me that this time he was dreaming of me. I would like to ask other men how often in their adult nocturnal emissions, do they dream about their partner (where applicable) instead of a fantasy woman (when it is a sex dream)? (age 27)

You seem awfully insecure about this. Wet dreams are rare in adult males. The women in them are often very random. The content of them is usually non-sexual. It does not surprise me that your boyfriend told you that fantasy when it is obvious that you are jealous of him dreaming of other women.

I did not have my first wet dream until I was 21 years old. I began masturbating to orgasm on a regular basis just before I turned 9. I did not ejaculate until I was almost 13. I masturbated at least 5-6 times per week all through high school and college, so I guess my body never needed to get rid of the semen because I was already taking care of that. I recall having sex dreams that were quite vivid and I woke up very aroused, but I never ejaculated in my sleep. However, at 21, during a couple of weeks of skiing over winter break, I had not had any time alone and I had my first wet dream sleeping in the same room as my cousin. I was dumbfounded since it had never happened before, and I just hoped I was not making noises in my sleep. I recall it being pretty intense. I have never had one since, but I am married with an active sex life. (age 40)

You would not have made any noises in your sleep. Thank you for sharing.

I had a wet dream and it was better than masturbating. My dad, this girl and I went into a room and the girl who was extremely hot was horny. My dad warned me to stay away from her but she came on to me and we started making out. I pulled away from her and left the room and she followed me because she wanted to be alone with me. We found another room and somehow we both were naked on the floor under some thin sheets and after that I touched my penis to her and ejaculated and woke up. (age 18)

What a vivid wet dream. Thanks for sharing!

I slept after masturbating and woke up with dry flakes around my penis and a line of it on my arm. I clearly remember that I didn't ejaculate before sleeping and I also don't remember any wet dream. My boxers are wet but my bed and quilt are completely dry. Was it precum or did I ejaculate? (age 16)

It could be either. I think if you ejaculated you would have remembered. See if it happens again. Most males your age masturbate daily and never have wet dreams.

I have masturbated from about June 2013 to about late November 2013 (but not every day). Is it possible to still have a wet dream? I really want to know what it feels like. (age 12)

Yes, but you have partially answered your question by reporting that you haven't had a wet dream since you stopped masturbating in November 2013, about six weeks ago. That suggests you will never have one. I would say wait until February 1, and if you haven't had a wet dream by then, give up on ever having one and resume masturbating at whatever frequency you would like.

I do mast 3-5 times in a week. The quantity of semen in wet dreams is more that the quantity when I mast. Is that normal? (age 26)

Probably. Wet dreams are rare at your age but are more likely to happen when a male hasn't masturbated in a while, in which case the semen volume would be higher. I suspect you're not entirely comfortable about masturbating, which is why you don't use the word in full. I would suggest working on accepting masturbation as normal, healthy, and fun.

Do ejaculations from wet dreams contain sperm? (age 19)

Yes.

There is this girl in my school that I haven't thought much about one way or another. I don't really either like her or dislike her. She's just a girl in school. A week and a half ago, I had a wet dream about her. We didn't have sex, but in my dream, I was rubbing my penis against her body. Ever since then, every time I've looked at her, it's been different. Now it seems like running into a movie star in school. When I see her, I feel like I'm frozen and I don't know what to say, even though before I never said much of anything. (age 14)

Why don't you say hi. I think your reaction is typical. Like the songwriter wrote, "When you're awake, the things you think come from the things you dream."

I used to masturbate about 2-3 times a week or even more, but I recently quit about a month and a half ago. Since then, I have been getting wet dreams periodically. I don't mind having them, except for the whole mess and stuff, as it's a hassle to clean. I'm pretty curious how I'm getting these wet dreams when I had masturbated quite often before. I'm debating whether I should go back to masturbating or continue with these wet dreams. (age 16)

Most boys stop having wet dreams when they learn to masturbate. I hypothesize that once a male gets to masturbating daily or nearly so, his wet dreams will stop forever. Since you were only doing it half that often, you were able to resume wet dreams when you stopped masturbating (which I also don't believe a male who's gotten to daily masturbation can do easily). Most males greatly prefer masturbating and having an orgasm whenever they want to having an occasional wet dream. I suppose the choice is yours until you get to masturbating daily or close to it, at which point you readily will neither be able to quit masturbating nor resume having wet dreams.

I masturbate regularly, at least once every day. I masturbated on the morning of Monday. That same evening I left India for Sydney, Australia. I did not masturbate thereafter & then suddenly on Thursday, I had a wet dream and woke up. So after 3 days of abstaining, I got a wet dream in Sydney. I blasted a huge load of semen and I could see three fairly large wet patches.

All the 3 days of abstaining I was arousing myself visually by staring at female butts right from the flight attendants to the sexy girls in the streets. I am sure this visual stimulation contributed to my wet dream within 3 days. In fact, I saw a sexy babe in a tight black skirt and her butt wiggled like there was no tomorrow. This stimulation from watching girls coupled with the change if place contributed to this wet dream in 3 days flat. What's more, this is not the first time I have experienced a wet dream after reaching Sydney. Could it also be that I am here on a holiday and so more relaxed to achieve a wet dream? Not sure, but I enjoyed the cum blast and the stains were as exciting as the wet dream itself. (age 40)

You don't say what your wet dream experience is, but in any case, it's unusual to have a wet dream at your age. Keep in mind that many, many men experience the same kind of travels and sex fantasies that you did but didn't have wet dreams. Happy travels!

I have had wet dreams since I was 13. I still have them once or twice every week and I masturbate to orgasm 3-4 times a week. In my wet dreams I am always having sex, sometimes with other males, even though I am straight. Is it normal to still be having wet dreams at my age? Is it normal for me to have sexual wet dreams about other males even though I am straight? (age 19)

My hypothesis is that there is a cardinal frequency of masturbating that will put an end to a young male’s wet dreams forever, but that if a male stays below that frequency, he can keep having wet dreams, at least for a while. I tend to think that cardinal frequency is 3-4 times a week. I frequently advise males who want to stop their wet dreams to masturbate 5-7 times a week and they will probably stop forever. I’m not sure how important the content of wet dreams is; relatively few males your age have wet dreams, and not as frequently as you do. However, if you’re bothered by the content, that would be a good reason to want to put an end to your wet dreams forever.

I'm abstaining from masturbating prone so that I can learn how to masturbate the normal and healthy way. Is it bad if I get a wet dream during my abstinence period? Will that cause any setbacks or is that completely unrelated to my path to being cured of prone? (age 26)

I have never heard of a male having a wet dream while abstaining prior to switching to conventional masturbation. I suspect you’re asking a hypothetical question. The time since last orgasm is what makes it easier for a male to try a new way of masturbating, so I suspect a wet dream during that period would ruin the abstinence and require resetting the clock to the time of the wet dream.

I just woke up after my first ever wet dream. I wondered why I was awake, and then I made the discovery in my shorts. I have regularly masturbated since the age of 11 and my last time was about 3 days ago. Interesting that I have often gone weeks without masturbating and I had my first one now after just 3 days without masturbating. The dream wasn't explicitly sexual. I was just hugging a friend!! (age 21)

Thank you for sharing! If you have more wet dreams, I hope you enjoy them.

I've only had 2 or 3 wet dreams. I think I was 21 when I had my first one. I had a really good wet dream last night. I can't stop thinking about it. I was having a dream about a girl the last few nights and she looked amazing. I don't know why I'm just now having them. Would it be because I'm looking for a girl like the one in my dream? Is it bad for me? (age 23)

Wet dreams are good even if they're unusual at your age. Do you want to find a girl who looks like the one in your dream? Then go for it! Looks aren't everything, you know.

I have the same wet dream over and over. I am lying on the ground naked with my knees spread and pulled up to my head, naked, erect. People walk by and comment, laughing, shocked, aroused. Then I ejaculate as I wake up. I think it is not being able to relieve myself that causes the extreme feelings. (age 32)

That doesn't seem like a happy wet dream. Most men your age prefer to masturbate frequently rather than wait for a wet dream.

I have been masturbating since I was 11 years old - usually at least once a day, sometimes up to seven times, even now. I have had plenty of dry spells. I even managed to abstain for a month-long period once or twice, which ended in an intense wet dream. I have had several wet dreams before, but only during the times that I decided I was masturbating to the point of exhaustion and needed to stop for a while. I have been over-stimulated, sexually, the past several years and have always struggled to stay monogamous in my relationships (with success, just much difficulty) because my sexual addiction (and porn addiction) have led me to want to know what every woman looks like and feels like. (I associate this with my sexual/porn addiction because the few times I have forced myself to stop the daily use of each. I have not had any desire to cheat on my fiancée.)

I have stopped all sexual activity because of similar issues for four days now. I just want to focus myself and stay loyal. The key to it is to not just stop, but to slow down, maybe stop for a week, and then resume masturbating on a regular basis, but only once or twice a week. (At least this is the idea I've decided I'm going to follow.) Not to mention the obvious benefit of orgasms being much more pleasurable when they are spaced farther apart.

Anyway, my fiancée and I share mutual masturbation (oral as well), but we are both working hard to wait until we are married (one month away) before we have actual sex again. It has been a year and a half since we've had sex -- this is due to her personal preference and that she feels dirty having sex outside of marriage. it makes it difficult for me not to cheat, but I am strong despite my obvious addiction. We have tried to deprive ourselves of even mutual masturbation the closer we get to the wedding, but she has been insatiable since the day after I decided to stop masturbating, so for the past few days I have been fingering and pleasing her without letting her please me. Last night I had an intense action-packed dream, with a random sexual encounter in the middle where I picked up the hottest girl in the dream and orgasmed inside of her. The orgasm was QUITE powerful, and I'm still feeling the pulsing, pleasurable affects 3 hours later. It wasn't right when I entered her, but it was very soon, so that was in accordance with what you said about the male ejaculating as soon as his penis makes contact with something in the dream. I did not wake up, but actually resumed my action-packed dream.

I am quite sure that I have trained my mind to orgasm easier when masturbating, but I also masturbate many different ways (kneeling, sitting, standing, lying down, massaging the most sensitive part of my penis, stroking the skin, and moving the skin, lube, no lube, etc.) I don't combine the full list during one session, but do my best to orgasm with one technique to keep things unique. I am revealing this because it may explain why I continue to have wet dreams well into my adulthood after abusing my penis for the past 15 years. Otherwise, I am both highly sexual and capable of wet dreams after very little time, without masturbation.

I have a higher-than-average sex drive and always have, so maybe that is a part of it as well. Those with low sex drive who masturbate infrequently may experience wet dreams, but I see no reason to believe, at least in my own case, why a males who masturbates frequently would LOSE the ability to have a wet dream.

Maybe that would be something you may want to ask and try to gather information on: Those men that are trying to achieve a wet dream, are they just not letting any sexual stimulation enter their lives, or are they playing with themselves and just not completing the task? I feel very strongly that if you don't let yourself even think about sex then your body will not produce the fluids, but if you were to watch some porn or get stimulated to the point where you can feel your balls tingling and the juices flowing, maybe that would set off the famed wet dream they are seeking? It would be very interesting to see the results. (age 26)

I think you are simply an extraordinary case. I have dealt with plenty of men who adopted various strategies for bringing back wet dreams (or having them for the first time), and your proposal is merely a variation on what many of those men do. For the overwhelming majority, the result is no wet dreams. The strategies of both abstaining from all stimulation and of masturbating close to orgasm before bed can both be called failures.

I am not qualified to diagnose or suggest treatment for sex addiction, but I hope you have advised your fiancee that you think you are one before you go down the aisle.

I have only had one wet dream and I am 15. Is this a bad thing?

Wet dreams are neither good nor bad. They are just a way of ejaculating that most males who have had them believe to be second-rate. The vast majority of males prefer to have voluntary orgasms whenever they want.

I get wet dreams 2 to 4 times per week and some times twice a night. Last night I masturbated and in the night I got a wet dream also. Is there any problem with me? (age 23)

It is unusual for your age to have wet dreams so often, but it doesn't mean there's anything wrong with you. If you started masturbating five times a week or more, it will probably put an end to your wet dreams forever.

I've been masturbating for about a year and I have not had any wet dreams. I masturbate 5-7 times per week. Will I ever have a wet dream? (age 13)

I don't think you will. Be glad you enjoy masturbating a lot.

Is it good to stop ejaculation at midway during wet dreams? Like when I wake up? (age 22)

No, it isn't good, but it's just how the body works. Not every male can stay asleep until the wet dream is over. If you wake up before you're finished ejaculating, you will probably want to masturbate soon afterward.

I woke up in the middle of the night in the middle of an orgasm. It was strange to say the least and I've never experienced this before in my life. I masturbate a couple of times a week but I don't always ejaculate. I remember last night I was dreaming, it was very vivid and at the point I woke up I was just entering a woman. I'm not sure who, maybe it was pure dream created but when I woke I realized I was ejaculating. (age 34)

Congratulations on having a rare wet dream after the teen years. If you don't like them, then masturbate more often, and make a point of always masturbating to orgasm.

I have been masturbating since I was 12. I had one or two wet dreams around the age of 13. I stopped masturbating for almost a week now. Is there any way that I can bring wet dreams back? (age 17)

It's very unlikely that you'll ever have another wet dream. Abstaining from masturbating to try to bring one on is a waste of time.

I still vividly remember my wet dreams, even though the last one was when I was 16. They were never sexual in nature and were all pretty much the same plot but in different scenarios. I would be in some sort of situation where I was in a crowded room (in my first wet dream I was in the science room at school and all my teachers were there). For reasons unknown, in the dreams, I take all my clothes off in front of everyone and just stand there. Everyone would turn and look at me and start laughing, at which point I would ejaculate and wake up. I have a lot of dreams that involve sex but they are never wet dreams. Do you believe dreams are the result of secret desires or past experience? When I was a young boy (age 3-6) I used to like to take all my clothes off and run around naked in front of other people. (age 22)

You are old enough that you can decide if you want to try nudism. If you would, then perhaps those wet dreams resulted from some kind of desire. If not, you can just dismiss them as random products of your mind.

I am 34 years old and I had a wet dream last night. This is not the first time and they happen infrequently. I thought they were due to excess build up from infrequent ejaculations. However, I have a girlfriend with whom I engage in sexual relations at least once a week. In fact, we had sex two days ago. I was really surprised when I woke up all wet last night. Additionally, I don't necessarily remember a dream with sexual content, whereas I had in the past. Any idea what could be at the root of this?

Wet dreams are rare in men your age, but they don't mean anything is wrong with you. You didn't mention anything about masturbating. Most men your age who are only having sex once or twice a week still masturbate a few times a week. If you ejaculate at least five times a week between intercourse and masturbating, it will probably put an end to your wet dreams forever.

For those saying they are not getting wet dreams even after avoiding masturbation for weeks, try not touching your wiener before going to sleep. You'll have 'em in no time if you are not masturbating. (age 25)

I have no doubt that many males who give up masturbating in order to produce a wet dream are also not touching their wieners before bed. Nevertheless, most do not end up having wet dreams. Your solution is too simple.

I stopped masturbating for a while and then had a wet dream, then another one after 4 days, then a third one after three days, and then I had more over the next five days. Most of my wet dreams came when I went back to sleep after waking up in the middle of the night. What should I do? (age 19)

There is nothing harmful about wet dreams, but if you don't want them, you need to masturbate frequently. Masturbation is normal, healthy, and fun, and even necessary for male sexual health.

I have never had a wet dream in my life. I went through puberty at an early age and started masturbating when I was 11. I started having sex when I was 15. Is this normal? (age 18)

Yes, you will probably never have a wet dream.

I have not masturbated in about a week. Last night I began to dream about zombies (walking dead) and then about putting on a condom. As the condom slid on, the tip broke and my penis showed. then I started to orgasm. I woke up recognizing the feeling of ejaculation and felt my underwear. I slipped on my shorts and went to the bathroom to clean up. I love wet dreams better than masturbating. Since I have cut down on masturbating, I have noticed erections more frequently and from things that would not normally turn me on. I'm hoping for another one soon. (age 17)

I started masturbating when I was 14 and did it 7 to 10 times a week. Then at 17 I reduced it to three times a week and the past 2-3 years I reduced it to twice a month. But my wet dreams used to happen regulary once a month. It's been more than a year since I've had a wet dream. I masturbate now about once every three months. I'm still a virgin. (age 22)

Your problem is not that you don't have wet dreams anymore. Most males who have them stop having them well before your age. Your problem is that you're hardly ejaculating at all. Most males your age who are not sexually active masturbate about once a day. I don't understand why you have so drastically cut your frequency so many times.

I get wet dreams 2-3 times a week. When wet dreams occur, I feel weak. Is this a problem? I have Gilbert's syndrome and I am thin. (age 25)

Wet dreams are fun. They should not make you feel weak. If anything, they should make you feel strong. If you don't want wet dreams, then all you have to do is masturbate more often than you do. If you masturbate at least four times a week, it should stop your wet dreams forever. Most men your age who aren't sexually active masturbate about once a day. I don't know anything about Gilbert's syndrome, but a quick check of the Mayo Clinic web site didn't say anything about sexual problems resulting from it.

I am almost 15 and have had many wet dreams. Most of them were forgotten soon after. I remember my first (and best!) one: I was watching a very sexy fashion show and my penis was pulsing with the music. Another big one was when I was Googling and very sexy girls came up. My most random one was when I was at a circus talking to a girl and I felt something happening to my penis and then woke up. I will tell of any more memorable ones.

At age almost 15, I can promise that your best orgasms are ahead of you. Those dreams are really not very sexual at all. Don't be surprised if your wet dreams stop soon.

I have wet dreams twice a week. Is it good or bad? (age 23)

At your age, I think it's more bad than good. At your age, most men masturbate daily and never have wet dreams. If you were 14 and having wet dreams twice weekly, I would say, "Good for you, but pretty soon you will probably have a new habit that will cause your wet dreams to stop." Frequent ejaculation is good for your sexual health. You should be ejaculating more than twice a week.

I had a wet dream about having sexual relations with a relative. I never thought of her like that, and in the dream, I couldn't stop because it felt like I was being controlled. She was completely naked. I woke up ejaculating in my pants. I don't have enough privacy to masturbate as often as I would like. What should I do to get rid of a random weird dream about doing a relative? (age 16)

It was only one wet dream. Dreams, wet or dry, are only random thoughts running through the brain. They don't have to mean anything. You don't necessarily want to have sex with this relative. Like you said, you never thought of her like that. So just forget it, like you probably would if you dreamed your relative was a clerk at the motor vehicle bureau. And if you don't have enough privacy for masturbating, perhaps work at finding more places where you can masturbate.

Is it normal to have a nocturnal emission in the middle of the day? (age 16)

The term nocturnal emission refers to ejaculation while sleeping, which does not necessarily have to happen at night. Many nocturnal emissions happen after the sun comes up, and if you take a nap in the middle of the day, one can happen then too.

Are wet dreams injurious to health? (age 13)

Not at all.

For some strange reason, I've had three wet dreams on consecutive nights. I don't have wet dreams frequently, and I don't masturbate regularly; I have frequent intercourse with my girlfriend. I masturbated after the first night's wet dream, but then it happened the next two nights as well. It's left me concerned and puzzled. I'm afraid to go to sleep. I don't want to make it four nights in a row. I was sleeping next to my girlfriend when it happened this morning, and I tried to act like nothing happened. (age 33)

That is unusual for your age, but there is nothing wrong with it, and there is no reason to act shameful about it in front of your girlfriend. I think a fourth wet dream would be very unlikely. Try to enjoy them when they're happening! Many men your age are envious of your wet dreamability.

I'm 38 years old and married for 14 years and I still get wet dreams. Why? I have sex with my wife at least once a week and I still masturbate. I don't have wet dreams all the time but it does happen.

Wet dreams are nothing bad. It shouldn't bother you to have them occasionally. If it does, then masturbating more frequently (or having sex more frequently) will tend to put an end to your wet dreams.

Lately I've been having wet dreams and I am really trying to stop so please is there anything else I can do except for masturbating? Maybe some people like wet dreams but not me. It's frustrating. (age 19)

Since you have to ejaculate, you will have to experience one or more of these: masturbation, sexual intercourse, wet dreams. If you don't want wet dreams, then the easiest solution is to masturbate more often.

I still have wet dreams now, about once every two to three months. All are associated with dreams of having intercourse with girls. I masturbate about every three nights, but enjoy the wet dreams just as much. (age 53)

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